Below is the Shield of Fear Diagram. Note that in the center is the ego dream of separation or the “gap”. The next ring out is a dark, thick ring which is comprised of all appearances of fear including lack, sickness, pain, loss and death. While we proclaim that we do not want these things and we defend against them, this diagram shows how this ring of fear protects the “mythical me” from contact with the outside ring, the Holy Self. We know that if we were to make contact and recall the Truth of what we are, the Holy Son of God, that this illusion of separation and the “me” we think we are will dissolve. When our mind is contracted in fearful images in the ring of fear, we are protected from the Light and Love we are. We must recognize that fear and its images serve to protect the false self. To awaken to our true identity, we must forgive this shield of fear and what we have placed within it to keep our dream of separation intact.